Ana Baneira

Ana Baneira, a member of a human rights NGO, was arrested by security forces in Iran on charges of espionage at the same time as the national uprising of 2022. She was finally released from prison after four months with the diplomatic efforts of the Spanish government and returned to her country.

<coverage-outsourcing id='54241'> <reference source='https://www.reuters.com/world/spanish-woman-freed-iran-jail-says-positive-thoughts-kept-her-going-2023-03-02/'> In a press conference after her release, Anna Baneira told the press that she was arrested by security forces in mid-October, a day after she went to the Immigration Department to renew her visa in Iran. According to Reuters, she was arrested with one of her Iranian friends at a gas station on the way to Persepolis. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54242'> <reference source='http://tinyurl.com/3ay3yejr'> In the early days of the 2022 uprising, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic issued a statement claiming that the people it called "seditious" and "destructive agents", including "9 foreign nationals", were identified and arrested "on stage or behind the scenes". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54243'> <reference source='http://tinyurl.com/3nyj47kw'> In a press conference, Nasser Kanani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, told IRNA, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, about the arrest of several foreign citizens during the protests of Azadi women: > Some of the foreign citizens were arrested in the recent internal developments in Iran and illegal actions that should not have been committed. Investigations have been carried out in this regard and are being carried out. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54244'> <reference source='https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-releases-spanish-woman-after-three-months-jail-over-protests-2023-02-26/'> She was released after almost 4 months. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54245'> <reference source='https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/politics/iran-releases-spaniard-ana-baneira-after-five-months-prison/20230226162627181937.html'> Diplomatic sources told Europa Press that Baneira is currently on her way to Spain via Dubai. The news agency also added that after her release, Ana Baneira had a telephone conversation with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albarez, and thanked him for his efforts for her release. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54247'> <reference source='https://www.reuters.com/world/spanish-woman-freed-iran-jail-says-positive-thoughts-kept-her-going-2023-03-02/'> In a press conference after her release, Anna Benira told the Europa Press news agency that not being informed of the charges against her for several days, while she was unable to communicate with other prisoners due to language barriers, was the most difficult part of her detention. Ms. Baneira, who was accused of espionage, told Reuters that despite being a member of a non-governmental human rights organization, she is not an activist in this field and denied participating in nationwide protests in Iran. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>